Enhancing Gear Security: Seeking Advice for Hiking and Camping

[Duncan.Y.C]

I think occasionally taking off the backpack is a good thing, as it allows my shoulder and back muscles to relax effectively. Moreover, setting the backpack down for some stretching can help alleviate physical fatigue. Your habit is really good and worth learning from. Thank you for your response.

[Duncan.Y.C]

Thank you for sharing these experiences and suggestions. It’s important to prioritize the safety and retrievability of items while outdoors. Using reflective tape is a clever idea that can be instrumental in locating lost items when needed. Additionally, forming the habit of thoroughly checking the surroundings before leaving a campsite is crucial to prevent leaving anything behind. In situations where items may be overlooked in wooded areas, it might be helpful to double-check the locations of all items before departing to avoid regrets. Your insights are truly enlightening and I appreciate your sharing.

[Dan]

… developing a set of practices which stops you from leaving items behind.

I couldn’t agree more with this, a routine is critical for me. Even small things, like always putting my glasses into the chest pocket of my shirt immediately when I take them off my face.

[Miner]

Did you find your gps and phone the next day?

Jerry,

No I didn’t recover them. Hence why I wish they had reflective tape on them as it would have stood out nicely in the dark. In the case of the phone, even having a BT tag wouldn’t have helped since I would have nothing that could trigger it and there was no cell coverage there.

The GPS unit is likely in a 100ft stretch of the hillside below the Condor Trail along Willow Creek in heavy brush including poison oak.  But being a gray color didn’t help my search wading through it.  Started using reflective tape after that.

But last year I swapped out my cell phone just before leaving for the CDT and forgot to add it (was on my previous phone).  I think I lost it in a couple hundred yards stretch in NM; the problem being I think it fell last November around 9pm when I went 100ft off trail looking for potential campsites and eventually camped 1/4 mile away before I noticed it missing.  It was cold so I had a lot of layers on and I couldn’t see below my waist well as a result. After the last time I used it (do know where that was), I think I didn’t put it into the open top pocket on the back of my fanny pack and instead had it between my belly and the fanny pack and friction held it there a while before it slipped and fell into the dead grass.  I do think I heard it fall when I was off trail but didn’t think anything of it at the time.  It definitely didn’t fall on the trail or I’d found it and that was the only time I was more than a few feet off of it.

I’m actually thinking of going back in mid November with a metal detector to spend a day or two doing a proper grid search in the area with some string to mark things off.  I just want to see if I can get the photos off of it. I think the battery should have died within a few days after dropping it since it was almost dead and it had 3 active alarms set each day so the rain/snow later shouldn’t have shorted it out.  It likely will have some corrosion issues after a year though.   I will be doing some hiking in the area to justify the trip.

[Author]

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